Faith-Based Programs Aim To Help Blacks, Hispanics Adopt Healthy Lifestyles; Conference To Address Mental Health Among Blacks

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry;  Conferences;  Mental Health
Article Date: 18 Feb 2008 - 10:00 PDT

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Body & Soul: A Celebration of Healthy Eating and Living: The Fort Wayne, Ind., chapter of the American Cancer Society Service Center, FWAACA Inc. and the Indiana Minority Health Coalition are introducing the Body & Soul program to black churches in the area. The faith-based wellness program aims to encourage blacks to have a healthy diet. Churches employ a planning committee to vary activities based on resources and interests. Through the program, congregation members learn about the connection between health and spirituality, incorporating more fruits and vegetables into their diets and other ways to live healthier lives (Frost Illustrated, 2/13).

Central Texas African-American Family Support Conference: The no-cost event takes place Friday and Saturday in Austin, Texas, and focuses on mental health among blacks. The conference will feature such speakers as singer and actress Jennifer Holliday and Leonard Lawrence, a retired youth psychiatrist and former chair of the Texas Youth Commission. The conference also will include workshops on suicide prevention and mental illness and the criminal justice system (Ball, Austin American-Statesman, 2/15).

Healthy Living Program: The program, directed by the University of Rochester Medical Center Center for Community Health and the Greater Rochester YMCA, is relaunching and extending to black and Hispanic communities in Monroe County, N.Y. The program works with churches and community centers to hold 12-week courses three times annually that encourage participants to adopt health goals and personal action plans to adopt healthy lifestyles and manage chronic diseases. The program has been working with black churches and will launch a new pilot project targeting Hispanics (Healthy Living Program release, 2/11).

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